1. Why are Lassie and the Carraclough family so devoted to each other? How do each of those characters benefit from the other characters' love? In what ways do they treat each other the same, and how do they treat each other differently? How does Lassie connect the three Carracloughs as a family?

2. Compare and contrast the Duke of Rudling, his granddaughter Priscilla, and the kennel man Hynes with the Carracloughs. Do you think Knight selected those characters' names to suggest socioeconomic and personality traits such as rudeness? What do these characterizations reveal about class in Great Britain?

3. Discuss the Carracloughs' strategies to persevere despite lean and discouraging times. How do their efforts parallel Lassie's journey?

4. How do the dog characters resemble human characters? Does Knight describe animals and humans with any physical attributes which are clues to their inherent goodness or unsavoriness?